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Sons name in Kanji

xr4kw

後輩
31 May 2008
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Hello all,
I was hoping for some help. I have always admired Japanese art and I would like to honor my son by tattooing his name in Kanji.
Can anybody help me? His name is "Shane".
I have found this site (dsfy.com), but I'm skeptical by nature.
Thanks in advance...
 
shane is not a Japanese name, so there isn't really a kanji for it. It is not even close to any Japanese name or word, so the closest you could come is by writing it phonetically in katakana, シェーン, or taking the meaning and finding a corresponding name/word that would have the same meaning, but would be guaranteed to be pronounced completely different.

I think this is a bad idea, please consider using English for your tattoo instead.
 
Thanks for your honesty, thats what I was afraid of. I am getting a Japanese style dragon tattoo and wanted to incorporate his name and keep the style consistent. What about kanji for "first son" or would initials work "S.M.W"?

Thank you very much for your help. I've read the Kanji tattoo horror stories and don't want to be a part of it.
 
Eldest Son/child 調子 (ちょうし)

If you really really want kanji that is significant to your child's name, then I would forego pronunciation completely. Find out what the name means in english then find a used kanji or (kanjis) that has a similar/same meaning. It wont be pronounced the same but its meaningful at least ^^;

Or yes keep the tattoo in english.
 
Just a clarification, 調子 is indeed read ちょうし, but it does not mean eldest son/child.

For that, you would want to use
長子 or 長男

That's exactly the kind of thing that original poster was afraid of...lol

Nice save, Ossan!👍
 
OK thanks, this is why I came here, great info. I may just forego the kanji and incorporate his zodiak sign. I don't really think his name in English would flow well with a Japanese style tattoo.

The name "Shane" in english translates to "God is gracious", can you help me with the Kanji translation.

Thanks again...
 
Just a clarification, 調子 is indeed read ちょうし, but it does not mean eldest son/child.
For that, you would want to use
長子 or 長男

ahahaha I think I must have been half a sleep ><

I cant believe I put in the kanji for tune/tone rhythm ><

Thanks for the save!

I double checked this one...so I hope I dont make the same mistake again ^^;

御利益 (ごりやく) goriyaku

grace of god, divine favour or blessing.

Unless you meant "God is Gracious" in the sense that gracious means "to be grateful"?
 
I double checked this one...so I hope I dont make the same mistake again ^^;

御利益 (ごりやく) goriyaku

grace of god, divine favour or blessing.

Unless you meant "God is Gracious" in the sense that gracious means "to be grateful"?
hehehe

First, my translation would be
神様は慈悲深い
(I made it a little big so that it would be easier to see.)
That is an actual sentence, however, so it might not help with what you're looking for, xr4kw.

御利益 is pretty good! I wonder how many people (including Japanese people!) would recognize it... Although, technically it is closer to "God's grace" than "God is gracious".
 
ご利益 is more like God's favor. It's like when you go to a shrine and ask for favors from God ( Health, Wealth, Academic Success, etc.).

慈悲, as Mikawa Ossan suggested (神は慈悲深い), is more appropriate. It is just that it is not a very common expression in Japanese that while we will understand what the tattoo on your body means, it might look a bit odd, as a tattoo anyway.

How about you look for a Japanese proverb that you would like to dedicate to your son?

I can't think of one off the top of my head but I am sure there are short ones that are tattoo-ready.
 
ご利益 is more like God's favor. It's like when you go to a shrine and ask for favors from God ( Health, Wealth, Academic Success, etc.).
慈悲, as Mikawa Ossan suggested (神は慈悲深い), is more appropriate. It is just that it is not a very common expression in Japanese that while we will understand what the tattoo on your body means, it might look a bit odd, as a tattoo anyway.
恩寵 I believe is the Japanese Christian term for "grace of God." That is what I would find most appropriate in the sense of being a meaningful translation from the English name. 👍
 
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One idea is a transliteration.

Shi+En= Shi En sounds like Shane, but I highly recommend that your son and you decide which characters you will use when he gets old and hopefully he shows his interest in the culture.

Shi
ナスv for thinking
ナス窶 for a lion
ナスツ for a poem
and more.

En
窶ーナ? for a blaze
窶ーツ for a swallow
窶ーツ for relationship/fate
and more.
 
Thanks everyone (except for orochi... 尻) It looks like I have a lot of options. I want this to be meaningful to me but also make sense (even to those lucky enough to be fluent in Kanji), if I can't do that I'll move on.

What do you think of this transliteration, does it work in your opinion?

Shi for Samurai
E for wise
In for descendant
 
What do you think of this transliteration, does it work in your opinion?

Shi for Samurai
E for wise
In for descendant

Seeing your romaji and meaning, I can think of
士 (shi)
and
恵 (e)
right away, but what kanji are you going to use for "in"??
 
胤 for in?

Another idea may be to take a word from a part of your son's name.
志(shi or kokorozashi)
The character itself has the meanings for one's high object and it consists of two parts, samurai and kokoro (mind). But choose a proper artist not to separate the character.
You can explain to your son more about the background information of your tattoo, one word for the beauty of simplicity, the meanings of the character, or else, than just a transliteration.
 
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